Recently, I’ve run across the work of an environmentally friendly Thai architect named Singh Intrachooto. Singh saw a problem in the industry and decided to do something to close the loop. If you’ve ever been involved with construction of any form, you know there’s tons of wasted materials. That’s where Singh comes in. He takes left over scrap from construction sites and designs furniture with them, each piece being different depending on the size and shape of the materials that get salvaged. Now, Singh’s furniture has exploded and is on display in Los Angeles and Paris.

Singh sells the furniture via his website, OSISU, but I’m not necessarily advocating the purchase of his work. It’s incredible and inspiring, but we have our own construction waste here in the U.S. We have tons of it. And it’s going straight to the landfill. Why not find value in that trash? Let’s close the loop and put good materials to use. With Singh, it was just about 18 months ago that he decided to start making this furniture, and in his words, "people thought he was crazy." Now it’s getting big-time coverage all over the media. All it takes is asking the construction workers to set aside scraps like wood, steel, and concrete. The pieces pictured were made from reclaimed teak morsels. Via reuters.

This is a wonderful idea. In the US, another very do-able way to reduce waste is to donate…Donate to what you ask? Well, there are many nonprofits out there that need scrap lumber and construction materials. For example, I am active with wildlife and rabbit rescue and rehabilitation. Constructing aviaries for hawks and adequate pens for rabbits can get expensive if you want to do it right. Additionally, we can often use the materials to build related items to sell to raise money for the nonprofit (i.e. bird houses, feeders, dog houses and rabbit hutches). Most nonprofits will credit you at 100% retail for the material you donate to them, even if it is less than perfect. If you transport the materials to the nonprofit, you can also deduct the gas mileage at errr….I think like $0.40 per mile. It is also awesome feel-good publicity for your company.

In and around north central Florida, Gainesville Rabbit Rescue: [email protected], Florida Wildlife Care: [email protected] and, of course, the Humane Society. Make sure the organization is a registered nonprofit with a 501(c)3 number.